EXCLUSIVE: Rising standup comedian Cristela Alonzo is headed to television. A half-hour multi-camera comedy co-created by and starring Alonzo has received a script commitment with a sizable penalty (said to be in the six figures) at ABC. TitledCristela, the project, inspired by Alonzo’s life, is the story of an American Latina (Alonzo) straddling two cultures while not fully belonging to either. Alonzo will co-write the script with writer-producer Kevin Hench. 20th Century Fox TV and Marty Adelstein and Shawn Levy’s studio-based 21 Laps/Adelstein produce, with Alonzo, Hench, Adelstein, Levy and Becky Clements executive producing.

Alonzo, originally from the south Texas border town of San Juan, has appeared on Conan, Live At Gotham and Last Comic Standing (see video of her stand-up below). She made her acting debut on FX’s Sons Of Anarchy. Alonzo’s first stand-up special, The Half Hour, recently premiered on Comedy Central. She is with WME and Andy Corren Management. At ABC, Cristela joins another 20th-21 Laps/Adelstein multi-camera comedy toplined by a stand-up comedian, the Tim Allen-starring series Last Man Standing, which is heading into its third season. ABC was home of the most successful Latino-themed comedies in the past decade, half-hour The George Lopez Show and hourlong Ugly Betty, and did a John Leguizamo pilot last year.